Mable: So, I have no excuse for how late this chapter is. I just struggled more than usual, and it came up massively late, and I'm sorry. I won't dawdle any longer. Enjoy!

Almost Feels Like Home

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Mike was starting to notice that it was taking a little longer than he expected. He wasn't desperate enough to charge inside but he was becoming moderately confused and had half a mind to call Fritz's cellphone and see what was up. Yet right as he was pulling out his phone to dial, he noticed a car pulling out of the parking lot. It was hard to see from his position, but as it drove past, he swore he spotted Glenn inside. He squinted and tried to look closer, but the car was gone before he could be certain. Even though he couldn't be sure, he suspected that it was Glenn and that alone set off alarm bells.

If only he knew what was happening inside.

Fritz tried the window as the footsteps approached the office. He could hear the heavy clunking of metal that was barely suppressed underneath any fabric exterior- if there was a fabric exterior. The window seemed stuck and even when unlocked it refused to raise. The technician quickly entered a panicked frenzy. The glass looked thick; he didn't know if he could find something hard enough to break through quickly.

It was then that a thumping crack landed on the door. Fritz jolted and spun around to stare it down. His heart began to pound as he heard the mechanical squeaking of whatever was there rearing back again. He couldn't believe that a single blow would splinter wood, but it all made much more sense when the second blow revealed an axe. The sharp tip started to break through the door and sat lodged in the door for a moment before drawing back and striking again in slow, heavy blows. Fritz could already imagine it slicing through his flesh.

He tried the window one last time and when it still refused to budge, he looked around for something else. No other doors, no closets, not even anything that he could block the door with when something was breaking through. Without any other options, he rushed over and hid underneath the mahogany desk. He tried to quiet his breathing, which sounded too loud with his equally thunderous heartbeat, as he fit himself into the tight space underneath. If he was found down here then he would be at the animatronic's mercy, so he could only hope that he wouldn't be seen.

It didn't take long for whatever it was to finish chopping down the door and breaking its way through. With a loud cracking it forced its way into the office and began to thump across the floor. Fritz's eyes were wide open as he listened to it only feet away. There was a wide enough space under the desk that he could've bent down and looked out, but on the same hand so could the animatronic. He couldn't risk any noise. It came to a stop at the end of the desk and with a low squeak it turned its head and took in sight of the room around it, looking for the human who should've been there. Its presence was heavy, and the weight crushed onto Fritz's lungs.

But then, just when he thought he was found- assuming such from how it stood there unmoving- it slowly turned its body and started to head back to the door before stepping out. While Fritz was alone in the office, he didn't feel any safer. "Okay, okay. Think… There's no way Glenn would've secured all the doors and windows. I could try the bathrooms- they're closest… But the windows might be too small, and I don't think those doors are going to lock. There's the storage room. Maybe there's a bigger window in there… I doubt I'll make it to the front door."

Fritz was in the middle of contemplating his actions when suddenly a ringing started blaring out around him. He knew immediately that it was his cellphone and frantically yanked it out of his pocket. He instantly ended the call, denying it and silencing the ringing. Unfortunately, the damage had been done, and he could hear the footsteps returning from down the hall. "Just stay quiet and it'll come in and walk right back out. It doesn't know where I am."

And then the phone started to ring again.

Fritz was back in a panic. Denying the call would just leave it open to call again. Answering the call risked too much sound on its own. Either way, the animatronic was thundering towards the door. In the last moment Fritz's priorities changed from silencing the phone to just getting it away from him. He slung it under the desk and slid it out from underneath to the carpet in front of the door. He then held his breath, hearing the ringing, the heavy footsteps and then a loud crunch that silenced both. He didn't even care that his phone was destroyed, only that the animatronic was back and standing right beside him.

Thankfully, the animatronic again turned and started to leave the room once more. Soon he was sitting alone once more. He started to pull his frantic thoughts together again. "That had to be Mike. Not that he can come in and help me if I can't get out. I can't wait for him- I have to find a backdoor or something before that thing comes back." With a slow inhale, filling his lungs until they were heavy and sore, Fritz scooted out from under the desk, stepped over the crushed phone, and came to the door.

He could hear footsteps when he looked out into the hallway but couldn't see any animatronics nearby. He steadied his nerves and stepped out of the office before slowly heading down the hall. Out in the dining room, Fritz could hear thumping footsteps, squeaking metal, and recognized immediately that there was more than one animatronic wandering around. He shuddered and approached the nearest door before opening it, and only finding a closet.

"There's another hiding spot. Not really a good one though…" Fritz looked down towards the other door and the opening into the dining room and then inched in closer. He looked in the dining room as he edged to the door and started to slowly open it. All he could really see was the stage and there was nothing of interest on it. He continued to watch as he slipped through the door and into the storage room.

It was pitch dark inside, but Fritz didn't dare turn the light on. He instead reached for his keychain and pulled off a tiny light to use. It was less than a flashlight; just a piece of plastic with a tiny bulb that would glow when squeezed. It barely lit up anything that wasn't within a foot of the light, but it at least kept him from running into anything. He followed the shelves and walls around the exterior before eventually coming up on the back door. Alas, it too was locked, and he couldn't figure out how to unlock it. He looked for more windows, but the storage room was devoid of them.

It was now that footsteps approached from the other side of the room. Fritz turned off his light and squeezed beside a shelf. To his surprise, it looked like another door was pushed open on the other side of the room. In spilled a dull light that only seemed to be enough to illuminate the doorway, and with it wandered in an animatronic.

This was not whatever rushed the office. Instead, this was simply El Chip, walking in slow, clumsy footsteps. As soon as it stepped into the darkness Fritz could no longer see it but could still hear it walking through the room. First El Chip headed to the hallway door, and Fritz hoped he would leave through there. He did not. Instead, he turned and began to approach the back door. Fritz could hear his heavy footsteps and tried to press to the side, only to be stuck against a shelf. He ducked down until he was kneeling and tried to shuffle by on the floor when El Chip started to pass.

He felt El Chip's hand brush the back of his jacket. Fritz noticed it, El Chip did not.

As quietly as he could- holding his breath as he did- Fritz crawled towards the door El Chip had come in. The beaver had stopped at the back door and seemed to be contemplating it, so he only hoped he could skirt through before it turned around and spotted him in there. He shifted through the door and hid around the corner, unwilling to risk shutting the door and it letting out a warning squeak. His heart was pounding as he quickly ducked past the doorway and approached the stage. He wasn't surprised to see that all the animatronics had left the stage, only leaving behind the cactus' pot.

The stage curtains were drawn closed and he inched open the corner to look out. To his horror he caught a glimpse of the pink bird wandering into the front foyer and disappearing. She was blocking the front door- not that it was a guaranteed escape route anyway if Glenn had gone through the effort to fix even the office window. He looked towards the kitchen and noticed the lights were off now, unlike the dining room. Maybe that meant nobody was in there. Then again, that could also mean that something was hiding in there in the dark, but perhaps a kitchen would have another backdoor.

It wasn't as though he had much time to dwell. Fritz could hear Chipper's wobbly footsteps approaching the stage door. With no other options, Fritz slipped through the curtain and climbed down from the stage. His heart was pounding as he looked around the room and shuffled closely to the wall. He made it to the door back into the hallway, where he could return to the office or the bathrooms, but this would stick him in a dead end. Sure, part of him wanted to hide under the desk and try to wait it out, but the other part assured him that eventually they would find him if he stayed still too long.

Fritz stayed close to the wall as he inched step by step, soon arriving at the now cleaned buffet tables. He ducked down behind them and continued to shuffle along, only to stop when he heard what sounded like plastic scraping on tile, and it sounded close. "Just wait it out. Whatever it is will just move by," he assured himself. Than he continued to move ahead as quietly as he could. "Almost there. Get to the kitchen and get out… Or get a knife and find another way out." He started to step out from behind the salad bar.

He was rewarded by a green, handless arm suddenly appearing around the corner and pinning down his shoe.

Fritz's eyes popped open and he slowly leaned forward to see none other than the cactus animatronic. It had pulled itself from its pot- with wires dragging from its bottom like plant roots- and was now crawling on the floor. The segment that made up its head spun around so that it could look up at the technician with bright orange eyes and a goofily stretched smile molded on its face. It stared at him, he stared back, and then-.

"Doooon't drink the cactus juice! You don't know what it'll do to you,~" the cactus began to sing. The volume of its voice was unbelievable, and Fritz knew anything in the area would hear it. With a gasp, he tried to pull his foot free. The cactus brought up its other arm and clamped both on the technician's lower leg. He tried to shake it off as it sluggishly drug behind him. "Looks like an oasis and tastes all sweet, but it ain't all sunshine in the cactus meat!~"

"Let go!" Fritz whispered harshly. For a moment he forgot that this animatronic wasn't alive or else he probably wouldn't have even tried. He kicked his leg free, stumbled loudly over its arms, and broke into a sprint towards the kitchen.

"Ain't no runnin' in the dining room, Kiddo!"

Fritz felt a chill run down his spine at the feminine, heavily accented voice. He looked back to see the pink bird- the Chica recolor- coming around the corner. Then, in complete contrast to her previous comment, she broke into a dogged run towards him. Her maracas shook, her heavy footsteps echoed, and he could still here her voice. "Come on back now, ya here?"

With that and all the noise the cactus was still making, Fritz knew he was pretty much doomed. He turned ahead and barged right through the kitchen door. He only had a second of light before he was thrown into darkness and the only thing he could see in this time was the island counter beside the sink. He threw himself behind it and willed himself to stay as quiet as he could. Within moments, the kitchen door swung open behind him.

"Now Marcactus, you rascal! We can't play on an empty stomach! How's about we stop at our buffet for a tasty chicken and cactus taco? Now that's what I call fusion cuisine!" the pink bird played through its speaker as the door fell closed behind it. It began to cross the kitchen with loud footsteps. Completely blind, Fritz still knew exactly where it was, and listened as it circled the kitchen. It must've bumped into something as what sounded like a load of dishes hit the floor. The technician cringed and gave a full body shutter. He couldn't remember the last time he felt so helpless- he hadn't even felt this weak at Freddy's.

The bird approached the island, stopped at it for a moment, then started to try and squeeze around it. Fritz promptly started to crawl around the other side, only to jolt at the loud banging as pots were knocked off the counter. "Any minute now the rest of them are going to barge in," Fritz panicked as he continued trying to scoot around the island. The bird was moving surprisingly quickly, and Fritz was slowed by all the objects crowding the floor. Anything he touched could make a noise and signal where he was.

It was then that the kitchen door started to slowly creak open. Fritz just barely managed to get behind the corner of the island, but now he was closer to the bird with a beam of light illuminating the kitchen. Not that he knew if they could see in the dark or not. The bird turned abruptly, knocked over a block of knives, and then stared intently at the doorway. The newcomer promptly announced its presence.

"-And the spines poke you deep, if you eat from the meat! But it sure ain't as bad as that juuuice!~" the cactus- Marcactus?- sung through the doorway. While Fritz expected that this would doom him, this was actually his saving grace. He could only assume that it was the mistake of the programming, but as soon as the door opened the pink bird lost interest in the kitchen, as though she thought he had left it. In hindsight it made slight sense; it wasn't as though they had actual thought processes, so it must've assumed that an opening door, even if opened by something else, equated to him having left the kitchen.

Marcactus lingered in the doorway and tried to get himself through, but after a few minutes of struggle he lost interest and let the door slowly slide shut. Fritz only waited a few moments before shifting around the counter in the darkness and climbing back to his feet. He turned his small light back on and looked for a way out, finding only a window and no second back door. The window seemed like a possibility even without any obvious locks or handles to open it with. It was as though the window hadn't been made with the intention of ever opening it.

Fritz's dread almost returned, but it changed to shock as he noticed something just through the glass.

Once the calls stopped going through, Mike knew something was wrong. "Come on, Fritz…" the security guard muttered as he put his cell phone away, almost certain that Fritz wasn't going to call back. "He better have just turned his phone off." He could only hope as he stepped out of the van and headed to the front door. He double checked his watch; not even eleven, so nowhere near midnight. Nothing should've happened this early. The front door was locked, to which he wasn't surprised, but the lights were on in the dining room. Not that it made him anymore confident considering that the place was deserted.

"He was meeting with Glenn in the office, right?" Mike asked himself as he drew back. "Looks like it's another trip through the office window." He then jogged around the restaurant while mentally kicking himself for letting Fritz go in alone and wondering if the technician was naïve enough to sit there waiting until midnight. He tried the back door when he passed it and was unphased to find it locked. He still wasn't at the point of getting worried, not yet. Not until he looked in the office window and saw the state of it.

The office was a mess. The door was completely broken in and now lying in pieces on the floor. Things had fallen off the desk, a broken cellphone laid crunched on the floor, and Fritz was nowhere to be seen.

"God damn it, I knew it!" Mike tried the window, knowing he had to get inside and get to Fritz. From the looks of it, they could've already dragged him off and were about to put him under the axe. The window refused to budge even though it looked unlocked. Without wasting another moment, he sprinted back to the van and returned with a crowbar. He wedged it into the small crack of the window and began to pry it open. The window strained against the crowbar before letting out a loud crack and sliding upwards. "What did Glenn do to this thing?! He just couldn't make it easy. No wonder he didn't want me in here," he bitterly thought as he began to climb in.

The security guard was about halfway through when he suddenly heard heavy footsteps. He started to slide back out and dropped underneath the window just fast enough to not be seen, but just slow enough that he caught a glimpse of what almost looked like another Chipper. Except that it was toting around that same axe, and its painted body was clearly not the usual fabric or plastic.

"And there he is, wandering around two hours earlier than schedule. I can't believe this…" Mike didn't know what to think. He had found Glenn suspicious and had been paranoid, but now that this was happening, he could barely believe it. It was hard enough swallowing that the Lumber Bot was still active, let alone that it was now hunting around the restaurant. Mike leaned upwards and peered into the window to see the Lumber Bot still standing there but angled at the desk and not noticing the human watching. Its axe looked less like a prop and more like something someone pulled out of a shed, but Mike noticed it was clean of any blood.

"I'm going to take that as a sign that Fritz's still kicking, wherever he is." He watched as the Lumber Bot stepped out of the office and headed towards what he remembered as the bathrooms. He waited until he thought it was gone before trying to climb inside again. It was impossible to be entirely silent, and all it took was the smallest squeak of the window before he heard the footsteps again. "You have to be kidding me." He nearly threw himself back out the window as the Lumber Bot entered the office again. "Forget it, I'll find another window."

Which was how Mike appeared outside of the kitchen window, to Fritz's overwhelming relief. He didn't even have to knock on the glass as the man came over to check the window. He noticed the technician without any effort and was relieved to see that he looked alright- as much as he could when trapped in a dark building full of moving bots.

"Fritz! Can you hear me?" Mike called through the glass. Fritz made a strange, frantic hand gesture that he couldn't understand. "Fritz, Glenn's already taken off! We've got to get you out of there!"

There were quite a few sarcastic retorts that Fritz could've given if not on the side of the glass that he was on. He wasn't even wanting to risk whispering back and instead had to mouth a response. "Everything's locked," he mouthed in a growing panic. He pointed back in the direction of the door. "Animatronics everywhere. I can't get out."

Mike looked at the window between them. It looked thick, perhaps even double paned. It would take a struggle to break through, but the only other option would be getting Fritz back to the office.

"I got the window in the office open, but I don't think you'll make it over there!" Mike began as he raised the crowbar to silently explain how. Fritz started to look back at the door in alarm. That was a clear way out, but it would mean going right past the animatronics again. Mike tapped the glass window to get Fritz's eyes back on him. "Lumber Bot's right outside the office and he has an axe!"

"What do I do?" Fritz mouthed back. It was the short version of a very long question. He couldn't even begin to fathom how he was supposed to sneak by. That was, until Mike made a swinging motion with the crowbar at the window, mimicking his intentions. Ignoring that they would be vandalizing Glenn's business, and then realizing he could care less when Glenn abandoned him, Fritz fell onto the more logical problem. "The animatronics are right out there!"

The younger hesitated and then looked down towards the corner that wrapped around towards the front door. He then looked back to Fritz with a determined look, one that almost worried him. "Give me a few seconds!" Mike forewarned before hurrying off. While the technician had faith in his partner, he still felt like he had just been thrown into the lion's den. Once Mike started to break the glass, they would have to be incredibly quick, because the animatronics would be drawn to the noise. He could only hope that they were the same as the old Chipper animatronics in the Lumber Bot being the only one capable of truly injuring him, but he wouldn't put it past Glenn to have tweaked them.

After finding his way over and then putting away the small light, Fritz cracked open the kitchen door and looked out into the dining room. To his dismay, the pink bird, Marcactus, and Senior "Pollo" were now all in the dining room. The cactus was laying in the center of the room while the other two just stood at opposite sides of the room, staring off at nothing, and waiting for him. He felt a chill creep over and shuddered. Glenn probably planned on Fritz getting cornered in the office by the Lumber Bot and dealt with quickly, but he had certainly arranged an adequate backup plan.

"This isn't like Glenn. I don't even know him, and I know this isn't like him. Nobody would do this. Even if he thought I tampered with his animatronics, why would he wait this long?!" Maybe he was sicker than it seemed. It already didn't look good, but he couldn't guess what sort of bizarre ailment would cause this amount of delirium. Before he could come to any further conclusion, he was interrupted by a new noise.

There was a loud banging from the restaurant's front desk area. It was a rapid knocking, methodical and attention-seeking, and Fritz knew it was Mike. All three of the animatronics grew attentive and began to rattle out various recordings as they turned and walked, or crawled, in the direction of the front door.

"It's time fer the fiesta to begin! I hope we got enough ground beef."
"Down in the gully there's a lizard sittin' on a log-.~"
"Amigo El Chip, you throw the mucho bueno fiesta, si!"

Fritz exhaled in relief as he watched them disappear out of the room. Maybe they would be far enough out of hearing range that they wouldn't be able to hear the window breaking. Or just wouldn't get back to the kitchen fast enough. Though his hope was short lived as he heard the heavier footsteps far to his right, probably coming down the office hallway. The knocking had started to coax the Lumber Bot out. From the light moving of the stage curtain he guessed that El Chip was still on the stage. Perhaps stuck and unable to find a way down; Fritz could only hope so.

There was a tapping on the window and only then did Fritz realize that Mike had come back and was no longer distracting the animatronics. This was it. Fritz rushed to the window so that Mike could see him and then moved back to the door to feel for a lock or something to block it with. There was nothing, not even a chair, and he almost wondered if it was possible to slip out of the kitchen and grab one before they started. He didn't get the chance.

The first hit barely cracked the glass. The second started to break through, but only a small section right where the crowbar hit. Mike continued with strike after strike until the glass began to break further. The cracking noise only grew louder and Fritz, still standing at the door, could hear the quick footsteps as the animatronics started to rush in. His heart pounded erratically as he watched the slow progress at the window.

"Mike, hurry!" Fritz choked out.

"I've almost got it…" A few more strikes and most of the window was broken through. Large pieces of glass were still jutting out, but the hole through was large enough for him to try and squeeze past- if he was willing to risk possible injuries. All it would take was a little more time to make it safe and he would be free.

Or that was until the kitchen door flew open and slammed into the technician's back. Fritz staggered briefly before pressing back and trying to force the kitchen door closed again. This was a hopeless endeavor as a maraca toting arm slid through and hooked around. A blurring slur of words was concocted between all the voices behind the door. Out of the corner of his eye, Fritz could see Marcactus' arms coming through and trying to wedge the doorway open. They couldn't think, they didn't rationalize, they had no emotions, and yet here they were so determined to get to him.

It was only once Fritz's shoes started sliding on the kitchen tiles that he realized he couldn't hold much longer. He looked up to see the window almost cleared and decided to go for it. He broke into a desperate run and started to climb through. He didn't care about the glass and instead fought against it even as it caught on his clothes. Mike grabbed him and started to pull him through. It almost seemed like he had gotten out.

Then the hands clamped onto his legs and started pulling him back in. It was the chihuahua animatronic, being the only one of the group with hands that weren't molded against something. Its shortness didn't matter; it was just as strong as any full-sized animatronic would be. Then once it got him slightly back inside, the pink bird wrapped its thick arms around his waist and yanked him back with nothing more than the rattle of maracas. Fritz grabbed tightly on the edge of the window while Mike grabbed at his arms, swearing profusely and trying to fight back.

But the animatronics were set in their plans and soon dragged him deeper into the darkness of the kitchen. He fought against the limbs as he heard the louder footsteps thumping closer, all with the squeak and creak of shifting metal. The Lumber Bot was coming. He tried to kick back the cactus that now caught his lower legs in a bearhug, but was already trapped between the pink bird, who was now unintentionally blocking the window with its back. Mike turned on his flashlight and shined it into the kitchen to get a better look, planning to crawl in after Fritz and start swinging.

This plan was challenged by the kitchen door slowly sliding open and revealing Lumber Bot's poorly disguised visage. The wide, painted smile was only more unsettling than before. It looked like one of the Toy animatronics, if steeped in Fritz's post-Freddy's nightmares and given a weapon. It came in behind Senior Pollo as Fritz struggled against the grip on him. Mike started came halfway through the window and went at the pink bird in an attempt to get it to release the technician. He leaned upwards and jarred the crowbar into the opening on it neck. He tried to pry it apart just as he had the window.

It wasn't quick enough. The Lumber Bot stepped in to the scene and the door shut behind it, stranding them in darkness again. Fritz caught a glimpse of the axe as the flashlight light caught it. The Lumber Bot was raising its arm with a slowly squeaking and Fritz's eyes widened in panic. He tried to force himself downwards through the pink bird's arms, staring into darkness, and fighting helplessly against the chihuahua animatronic. "Mike-!"

A loud shattering noise broke through the voices. Fritz flinched back at the explosive noise right in front of him. He realized quickly that it came from the chihuahua animatronic in front of him as its grip suddenly released. The light briefly turned enough that he was able to see the axe lodged into Senior Pollo's head, between the top of its head and its right ear.

"The fiest- Chip- band- where we go- perform- No," Senior Pollo rattled out as it trembled in place. The Lumber Bot pulled its axe out without a care, took a step closer, and swung again. Fritz felt the breeze from the movement and knew that if it got any closer it would hit his leg. Senior Pollo wasn't shielding him any longer either, as the animatronic soon fell over and the metallic beaver was just as willing to step and crunch right over Marcactus' wires.

A second loud cracking noise broke out. This time from above Fritz as Mike managed to break part of the bird's neck. Its head lulled forwards oddly and its grip slightly loosened. The technician slipped down just in time to dodge the Lumber Bot. He ducked around the pink bird, which had its arms out and was trying to grab for him but seemed almost confused in where he was. The arms of the cactus were still around his left leg and he dragged the whole thing behind him. He dove halfway through the window, nearly knocking Mike aside as he tried to desperately scramble through. Especially when he heard the Lumber Bot's axe thump against the pink bird's chest.

"It's on my leg! Help!" Fritz nearly babbled as he pulled his right leg up to the window. Mike didn't even need to be asked twice. He leaned in the window and brought down the crowbar to pry off the arms and quickly knock then back with quick hits. He then grabbed the back of Fritz's jacket and helped drag him out the rest of the way. The technician landed on the concrete on his face heavily and dragged to his feet before he could even recover.

"Get up! We're getting out of here!" Mike commanded as he broke into a run. Fritz wasn't willing to argue and followed, even if he doubted that the animatronics would follow out the window. He jumped into the passenger seat of the van and clutched onto the handle on the door as they pulled out of the parking lot. He was nearly shivering and wiped over his face only to then find blood on his hand.

"Am I bleeding?" Fritz asked as he looked over his scratched-up hands. No doubt scraped up by the glass and fall onto the pavement. He was move worried about the bleeding that he couldn't see. Mike glanced over briefly.

"Yeah, from your lip." He turned back towards the road as Fritz felt around his mouth with his tongue to check his teeth. Now away from the danger, Mike's anger returned. "I knew Glenn was pulling something! I should've stopped him as soon as he walked out that front door!" He pulled out his cell phone. "In fact, let's just see where Glenn ran off to. If he's not halfway to the border I will be genuinely shocked." Fritz didn't say anything as he called the number, but he wasn't surprised when the call didn't get through. "Of course. Typical Freddy owner behavior, and this one's only running a knock-off."

"By the way, thanks for calling me over and over again," Fritz lightly joked. "I'm… I'm guessing that was you. I don't know who else it would be."

"It was me. Sorry about that," Mike apologized, looking genuinely remorseful. "If I knew what was going on, I wouldn't have tried more than once. Not with how the Lumber Bot was acting when I tried climbing in through the office."

"Don't be sorry. You saved my life," Fritz reassured. He sunk down into the seat. "Mike, we got really lucky. If you would've come in, we would've been stuck in there."

"I wouldn't have let Glenn leave the room," the security guard insisted. He glanced to the technician with the hope of getting more details, but the man looked exhausted and thus he let it go. It wasn't too long before they arrived back at the hotel. "You head in. I'm going to grab the first aid kit and I'll be right there." Fritz nodded and stepped out of the car. Now coming down from his excitable high he felt weary and out of sorts. He dragged himself into his hotel room while Mike did as he said. Though he made a detour on his way to Fritz's room.

Marionette and Charlie were sitting on the latter's bed as Mike let himself in and looked over as he did so. "You're later than I expected," Marionette remarked. He then saw Mike's face and, in an instant, knew something was amiss. The human looked slightly shaken and his clothes seemed a bit askew, which the Puppet took as a major warning. "What is it? What happened?" he asked worriedly as he raised from the bed.

"It's nothing, just… Okay, no, it's not nothing." Mike paused to reign himself in while Marionette eyes fixated on the first aid kit. He quickly looked over the human from where he was but couldn't see any obvious injuries. Though they could've been hidden. Mike tried to branch the topic easily, "So… It was a scam. Lumber Bot and the rest of Chipper's gang went after Fritz- He's okay, don't worry, but he scratched himself up a little. This is just a precaution."

"Were you hurt?" Marionette asked. It wasn't that he didn't care for Fritz's wellbeing, but he took Mike's assurances as the truth. "…I thought you weren't going inside."

"Don't worry, I didn't. I didn't break my promise… Unless my promise was to not bust out one of Glenn's windows, to which I could've never kept that promise anyway. He's lucky I'm not busting up a few more things, him included," Mike said, with his sourness towards the man appearing towards the end. "I'm fine, trust me. I'm going to go over to Fritz's room and make sure everything's alright with him. You two just… Sit tight, okay? I don't know what we're going to do now. We might be taking off for home sooner than we thought." With that, he slowly closed the door. For a moment, there was silence.

"…I knew this was going to happen," Marionette cryptically remarked. Charlie, who had listened silently until now, looked up at his back. "I knew with that… Thing in there that something was wrong. I shouldn't have let them go," Marionette continued. He covered his mask with one hand. "I should've taken care of it myself."

"How would you do that? By destroying the Lumber Bot?" Charlie asked. "You said that was the one with the programming."

"It is. It's the ringleader and it isn't even aware like us…" Marionette released a huff of static, "I have half a mind to go over there myself and take care of it right now." He tightened his hands and stewed in his growing anger.

"Then… Why don't you?" The comment surprised the Puppet and he looked back to the Security Puppet. She continued, "You said yourself that the Lumber Bot's not alive. If you shut it down then the others wouldn't be a threat anymore, right?"

He nodded and considered the idea. "…Maybe you're right. Maybe I should do it. I could go now, while Mike is busy with Fritz. He wouldn't even have to know…" He almost felt like it would be deceiving Mike, but he didn't want to risk him a second time tonight. Who knew what Mike left out of the story. He certainly didn't trust Glenn either, who had gone from negligent to malicious.

Making her own decision, Charlie made an unexpected offer, "Let me take you. I can drive the van fine and it'll be safer if you don't go alone, even if I'm just a chauffeur." The Puppet didn't respond right away, he just tilted his head quizzically. "If I could drive Baby out to the mall then I can drive you two blocks at midnight… It's almost like our earlier plans, except instead of looking at animatronic models I'll be watching you shut one down."

It would be an unnecessary risk to take the van when he could teleport easily, but he had to admit that Charlie had a point. He couldn't be too certain that the Lumber Bot would fight back and if he did somehow get stuck at El Chip's, unable to teleport back on his own, then it would force Mike to come get him. He just had to decide if it was worth the risk…

In the next room, Fritz had just finished getting his wounds cleaned up. "I think I busted my lip. That's going to look great on Monday," he muttered as he looked at his reflection. "If anyone asks, one of them sucker punched me. I rather that then them knowing I fell out a window. Natalie included." Mike silently handed over a wide band-aid which Fritz used to cover the scrape on the heel of his palm. "So… What's the plan now?"

"What do you mean?" Mike asked. "I don't think we ever had a plan."

"I mean… I mean, are we going to stay the night here and leave in the morning or are we leaving tonight? I don't think I can drive, but I will if it means getting out of town and away from El Chip and his 'Amigos'," Fritz said with a flat scoff. He was too tired to show much emotion. He looked back at the mirror and at his sore lip and that uneasiness returned. "…Mike, did Glenn really just try to have me killed?"

"Yeah, pretty much," Mike answered. He then gave a huff between exasperation and frustration. "Let's just leave now. I can drive, I've driven way later than this. Maybe we'll even get back some of our payment on the room." The technician nodded. "I'll go get Mari and Charlie, you make yourself useful and steal everything that isn't nailed down."

"Sure. You can't get enough tiny soaps and reused towels," Fritz answered. He almost sounded normal but also a bit distant. Mike understood it, considering what had occurred, but he couldn't say he understood Glenn's reasoning for trying to do this to Fritz now. If he could've had a grudge against anyone, it seemed more likely to be Mike himself. Maybe even Fritz was confused by it.

"You're okay, right?" The younger reached out to squeeze Fritz's shoulder. "Everything's alright? You're good for me to drive you?" Such a simple wording to ask whether or not the technician was on the brink of a breakdown.

"I'll be doing a lot better once we're out on the road," the older answered. He then turned to look at Mike. "Thanks for coming for me back there. I don't know what would've happened if you weren't there."

"Don't worry about that. Just consider it payback for every time you've pulled through for me, alright?" Mike managed an honest smile that Fritz was able to return. "I'll go get them and we'll get going. You sit tight." He then headed out of the hotel room, took a few steps towards the next room, and then came to a halt when he noticed the empty parking space that hadn't been there before. The van was missing. He stared at nothing for a few moments and then continued to the next room to check if anything else was missing.

Both Puppets were gone.

In hindsight, he should've taken the keys out of the van.

Mable: Mike just learned a lesson that Scott learned long before him… And no, it's not to never trust anyone connected to Freddy's. It's to never let animatronics around car keys.
Anyway, I will try to get my act together by next Thursday! I hope you enjoyed!